House to begin voting Friday on aid for Sandy victims

6:05 PM,
Jan. 2, 2013

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks to a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012. Christie is in Washington to talk about aid to help his state recover from Superstorm Sandy. President Obama is expected to ask Congress for about $50 billion in additional emergency assistance.

Written by

MALIA RULON HERMAN, Gannett Washington Bureau

The House will vote Friday on a $9.7 billion measure to fund the National Flood Insurance Program, then will act two weeks later on an additional $50.3 billion in disaster relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy, House Republicans said Wednesday.

Republican Rep. Pete King of New York said the package will add up to the approximately $60 billion in disaster aid sought by Northeast states pummeled by the Oct. 29 storm.

The Senate passed a $60.4 billion disaster aid bill on Friday, but that vote will be largely meaningless if the House waits to act until after the new Congress is sworn in at noon on ...